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Political news & views for independent-minded voters

Political news & views for independent-minded voters

Tag Archives: Henry Vandermeir

Lame OC Democrats drowning their sorrows with Betty Yee this Saturday

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Ashley Swearengin, Betty Yee, Democratic Party, Henry Vandermeir, Orange County 4 Comments

Betty Yee

The Democratic Party of Orange County has always been lame but they reached a new low in this year’s General Election.  They lost both the 65th Assembly District and the 34th State Senate District – and liberal Democrats were blown out in Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Anaheim, and Irvine.

So is the DPOC going to fire their Executive Director, Henry Vandermeir?

Nope. Instead they are holding a celebration, with new California State Controller Betty Yee.  Wow.  Who the heck cares about Yee – or the State Controller’s office? Continue reading→

Before A&E censored Phil Robertson, Murray and Pringle exploited hate speech to silence political opponents

Posted on by Posted in Anaheim, Curt Pringle, Kris Murray 11 Comments

index

Free speech is as fundamental to democracy as the right to vote because it preserves the free flow of ideas necessary for wide-spread political participation. To this end, it is not enough to reject censorship. The principles behind freedom of speech require us to support an environment that encourages all Americans to openly voice their opinions.

When A&E suspended Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson for expressing his sincere beliefs about sex and marriage, it undermined the free flow of ideas and chilled the right to free speech. Seeing someone come under attack for merely voicing an opinion puts pressure on the like-minded to stay quiet; and silencing a group of people, whatever their inclination, is never good for a democratic government. Continue reading→

The Democratic Party of O.C. quits Santa Ana and moves to Orange

Posted on by Posted in Democratic Party, Orange County, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Can you believe it?  The Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) is abandoning Santa Ana for a new office in Orange.  They are hosting a Grand Opening at that new office on September 7, 2013, from 12 noon until 3 pm.

The DPOC was in Santa Ana for almost two decades.  Ironically they will be paying less rent for their new digs, which are ” larger, brighter, newer, more visible location next month” according to their Facebook page.   Continue reading→

The O.C. Democratic Central Committee picks Henry Vandermeir to lead them

Posted on by Posted in 2013 Elections, Democratic Party, Henry Vandermeir, Irvine, Jeff LeTourneau, Lori Vandermeir Leave a comment

“After a hard fought election and the largest turnout to a central committee meeting in years, Orange County Democrats (DPOC) on Monday night elected Henry Vandermeir as their party chairman,” according to the Voice of OC.

While I was hoping that Jeff LeTourneau would win, it is likely that Vandermeir, a paid consultant who also heads up the Democratic Foundation (an organization that raises money to help some Democratic candidates) will do a good job. Vandermeir knows what he is doing and his wife Lori played a key role in helping Sharon Quirk-Silva to get elected to the State Assembly last year, in the 65th District. Continue reading→

Arellano makes a strong case for LeTourneau to head up the DPOC

Posted on by Posted in 2013 Elections, Democratic Party, Frank Barbaro, Gustavo Arellano, Henry Vandermeir, Jeff LeTourneau 2 Comments

Jeff LeTourneau with Darrell Steinberg

Folks forget sometimes that the OC Weekly’s editor, Gustavo Arellano, has been around for a long time.  Long enough to have gotten to know Jeff LeTourneau, one of two candidates vying to take over for Frank Barbaro as the new Chairman of the Democratic Party of Orange County.  The other candidate is paid consultant Henry Vandermeir, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Democratic Foundation (a conflict of interest obvious to everyone except Henry).

So Arellano knew damn well what he was saying when he wrote in an OC Weekly article posted online today that “If Jeff LeTourneau decided to retire from politics today, his place in Orange County progressive history would not only be secure, but he’d also be one of its titans.”

In fact Arellano proceeded to lay out LeTourneau’s legacy – and it really marks him as the top candidate to become the new DPOC Chairman.  Here are a few of my favorite excerpts from Arellano’s article: Continue reading→

The DPOC should choose Jeff Le Tourneau to be their next party chairman

Posted on by Posted in Democratic Party, Frank Barbaro, Henry Vandermeir, Jeff LeTourneau, John Perez 1 Comment
Jeff LeTourneau and Speaker John Perez

Assembly Speaker John Perez and Jeff LeTourneau

The race to see who will replace Frank Barbaro as the new Chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) is down to two candidates – longtime activist Jeff LeTourneau and paid consultant Henry Vandermeir. 

The DPOC is at a crossroads – Orange County is less red than ever.  The Democrats picked up another legislative seat this November when Sharon Quirk-Silva won in the 65th Assembly District, with capable help from Vandermeir’s wife Lois, who is also a paid consultant.

There is nothing wrong with being a paid political consultant.  I do some of that work too.  But should paid consultants be heading up political party organizations?  I don’t think so. Continue reading→